The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1887-04-21

and when you have looked into the
matter you will scarcely believe half the
tales you will hear Of the finding of
diamonds and watches and rolls Of bills
and pieces Of plate by these human moles.
But suspect that great deal more than
one would think is picked up In this
way. When you come to add together
all the careless sweepings by servant
girls, all the coins that unaccountably 70
astray, all the valuables that thieves
throw away when pursued through the
streets, all the loosely-clasped bracelets
that fall from ladies' wrists, and all the
innumerable mischances that may befall
the million sorts of valuables there are
in city of million and half of souls
the aggregate Is seen to be great. Certain
1t Is that once in q while one Of these
poor fellows comes upon a glittering
jewel that brings Italy vastly nearer to
him than It seems to you on the map, for
1t Is q curious fact that these peasants
only come to earn and save few hun
dred dollars (even 5000 satisfies many)
wherewith to 60 back and live in gilt
edged ease for several years. have
heard an Italian rave like q poet about
the delightful life he was going to lead
at home on $500, seated in a bower of
roses with clusters of grapes within reach
and endless goblets of wine through the
bottoms of which to view the everlasting
blueness of the Italian sky. He expected
to loaf for five and perhaps ten years in
this way; indeed, he said he hoped death
would come before his little fortune
should all vanish.
But the most peculiar life is that on
"the Dumps" as we call those wharves
that belong to the street-cleaning depart
ment. Here the trimmers are employed.
In nothing else has humanity in this city
ever approached the level of the rat so
closely as these trimmers come to it. 1t
used to be a matter for wonder to us that
there were found those who would work
at sorting city rags. To certain shabby
frame buildings, on the outskirts of the
three cities that really compose New
York, the rag-pickers repair every day 10
dump and sell the filching and purchases
with which they have filled their bags
In the hillocks of textile refuse thus col.
lected, in unventilated apartments,
women and girls spend every day in as
sorting the different kinds of rags beneath
them. The air is foul, the rags are in
conditions such as only rare imagina-
tion can conceive, and death and disease
lurk amid the handling of them. But
tudt 10 CuOlCc VOCdJlOu dS COIupdIcu
with this of the trimmers.
The garbage and ash dumps are sit
uated handily along the river fronts and
consist of ordinary wharves upon which
are built low platforms for the ash carts
to ascend, thence to discharge their con-
tents into the scows moored at the bulk
heads. AS these loads fall in the floating
boxes, some one must trim or level the
stuff 80 as to balance the boats properly
in the water. The men who do this work
are Italians. They are paid trifle day
for it, but not by the city. 1t pays moth
ing, because it has found an Italian boss
or contractor who gladly guarantees to
do the work for nothing, and who pays
the trimmers at the same time. de
profits by the findings of his men, whose
duty it is to grub in the refuse for valua-
bles. You would be astonished to see
what he considers valuables. Bones,
rags, buttons, metal, bottles, leather,
paper, wood, half burned coal, rubber, in
short all the waste of the city that is
flung from the houses and that can posi-
bly, be turned to account is recovered to
be sold and utilized In new shapes over
again. You may turn up your nose, but
perhaps the handle Of your tooth brush
came out of that heap in the shape of q
bone; so with your buttons, the paper on
which is printed your last magazine, the
bottle you drink your wine from at
dinner. No matter who you are or how
rich you are, you cannot guard against
having to use over again some Of the
refuse of New York any more than you
can guard against any other modern, wise
and economical law Of civilization.
All the delvings and gropings in the